Cancer prevention by natural carotenoids

✍ Scribed by Hoyoku Nishino

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 74 KB
• Volume: 67
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0730-2312
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-4644(1997)27+<86::aid-jcb14>3.0.co;2-j

✦ Synopsis

Epidemiological investigations have shown that cancer risk is inversely related to the consumption of green and yellow vegetables and fruits. Since ␤-carotene is present in abundance in these vegetables and fruits, it has been investigated extensively as a possible cancer preventive agent. However, various carotenoids that coexist with ␤-carotene in vegetables and fruits also have anticarcinogenic activity. Some of them, such as ␣-carotene, showed higher potency than ␤-carotene in suppressing experimental carcinogenesis. Thus, we have carried out more extensive studies on cancer-preventive activities of natural carotenoids, which found that lycopene and lutein had potent anticarcinogenic activity. In the present study, the cancer-preventive activity of phytoene was also comfirmed biotechonologically when mammalian cells producing phytoene were resistant to H-ras-induced cell transformation. Further studies on various natural carotenoids besides ␤-carotene should be continued to obtain more information about the potential of natural carotenoids in the field of cancer prevention.